Twin team ropers rely on each other for support

As team ropers who also happen to be twin brothers, Clay and Andrew Wieste are often on the same page when they step into the ring. Except, of course, when they're not.

Ben Luschen

As team ropers who also happen to be twin brothers, Clay and Andrew Wieste are often on the same page when they step into the ring. Except, of course, when they’re not.

“It seems like a lot of the time in team roping we think the opposite,” said Clay, the older of the two.

Still, Clay said on good days he notices a special connection with his twin, not too much unlike the near-telepathy one sees on television or in the movies.

Another big screen twin cliche — people constantly confusing one twin with the other — also rings true for the St. Cloud, Florida-born brothers.

Friends whom the two have known for years will sometimes address Andrew as his brother Clay, or vice versa.

Even their mother sometimes confuses the two.

There are some differences between the two, Clay said, that people can pick up on.

“Sometimes I can be a little more outgoing and he can be a little more reserved,” he said.

Outside of team roping, the two actually compete against one another in other rodeo events. Despite going head to head, Clay and Andrew are usually each other’s biggest fans.

“I kind of root for him and he kind of roots for me,” Clay said.

“We help each other through the hard times and feed off each other,” Andrew said. “If he goes on a bad streak and misses some calves and I end up getting one, it gives him a spark to keep going.”

Being from Florida, where rodeos are fewer and father between than in other parts of the country, Clay and Andrew said travel is often a big part of their summer. Andrew said he wishes Florida had more rodeos to offer, but he’s come to accept the time it takes to compete in the sport he loves.

“It’s part of it,” Andrew said. “You have to travel to rodeo.”

As soon as the IFYR is over, the Wiestes will extend their trip even father, driving to Rock Springs, Wyoming for the National High School Finals Rodeo.

The two have also settled on a college — Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.

Both will participate in the rodeo program there at the start of the school year. Clay plans to get started in the pre-vet program and Andrew hopes to earn his degree in agricultural business.